Day 4 of our series! Meet NJStacie*Made - spinner extraordinaire and all around crafter. So happy she'll be joining us this Sunday (November 20th)!!!!!

What's your name, what's your business name, and where are you from?

My name is Stacie, my business is njstacie•made.  I'm originally from New Jersey, but I've been in the Boston area for 13 years. <PREVIEWEND>

What came first knitting - dyeing - spinning?

What's your favorite fiber to work with?

I love love LOVE to spin longwools like Wensleydale and Romney.  It's got a great luster and hand, and knits up wonderfully.

How do you fend off creative-block?

What do you love to make with your yarn/fiber?

Any exciting things in the works that you want to share with us?

Holiday crafting is about to take over my life :)

To quote Stacie, "I blog (infrequently) over at njstacie.blogspot.com" and "I occasionally sell things on Etsy."

Day 3 of our series! Excited to introduce KnittinK aka AdyBee who created a new yarn in honor of a crazy dream of mine, "Unicorn Mane"! In my humble opinion, she's a rockstar. Without further ado...

What's your name, what's your business name, and where are you from? 

AdyBee, KnittinK, & I can currently be found in Roslindale, MA <PREVIEWEND>

What came first knitting - dyeing - spinning?  

Knitting, then dyeing, then spinning. It's a ::very:: slippery slope, be forewarned. 

What's your favorite fiber to work with? 

oooh tough call. I adore BFL (and blends) and Polwarth. They're strong but soft, and have myriad uses from socks to sweaters to mitts. 

How do you fend off creative-block? 

I have a thread on my Ravelry group where I ask people to post pictures and ideas they 'd like to see in yarn/fiber. I'm really lucky to awesome and hilarious customers. 

What do you love to make with your yarn/fiber? 

HATS. I'm addicted to hats. I can never have enough and I LOVE making them.  

Any exciting things in the works that you want to share with us? 

Yarn clubs, kits, new products, lotsa stuff. Stay tuned, cupcakes!  

You can sign up for KnittinK's newsletter here, follow her sass over on Twitter, and shop for her awesome fiber right here!

Day two of our Trunk Show artist blog feature! Shannon is one of the first spinners I approached about the shop. She believed in a stranger and for that I will always be grateful. So excited to have her join us on Sunday!

What's your name, what's your business name, and where are you from? 

My name is Shannon and I'm the monkey behind the wheel of The Spun Monkey Fiber Shoppe. I am originally from the SF Bay Area, but have found my home in southern VT with an awesome husband, a wild child and lots of crazy feathered creatures. <PREVIEWEND>

What came first knitting - dyeing - spinning?

What's your favorite fiber to work with? 

Hmmm...my favorite fiber? I will pick sheep's wool over any other protein fiber, hands down. I don't go in for plant fibers unless I blend them in with a lot of wool. I don't pick favorites with the sheep fleece because I love each and every one for its unique characteristics.

How do you fend off creative-block? 

What do you love to make with your yarn/fiber? 

I am a hat girl, all the way. It's my favorite one-skein project, and my favorite way to show off a great handspun yarn.

Any exciting things in the works that you want to share with us?

New things on the horizon are some themed repeatable colorways that will be offered on fiber as well as millspun yarns made with local small-farm fibers in limited edition runs.

You can learn more about Shannon on her blog, get updates on her Facebook page, and buy her yarn/fiber on Etsy!

Five days until the trunk show! Each day we'll be featuring one of the awesome folks we've invited to be a vendor. Here's an opportunity to learn more about each of them before meeting them in person this Sunday!

What's your name, what's your business name, and where are you from?

I'm Stephanie from Dirty Water DyeWorks.  I live and work in Arlington. <PREVIEWEND>

What came first knitting - dyeing - spinning?  

I learned how to knit and sew when I was a little girl.  As an adult I learned how to spin and started dyeing.  I dyed fabric and clothing - dresses, t-shirts, socks, towels.  Everything was a blank canvas waiting for color.  Since I'm an avid knitter, the shift to dyeing yarn and fiber was a natural progression.

What's your favorite fiber to work with?

My favorite fiber . . . that's a tough question.  I work mainly with animal fibers.  Blue faced leicester is always a favorite. These days I'm also enjoying a Polwarth wool /silk blend.

How do you fend off creative-block?

I make a concerted effort to identify new and exciting colors around me on a regular basis.  That doesn't mean I translate them to dye right away, but it gives me a starting point.  If I'm on a deadline to create new custom colors and they aren't coming out in the mix, I take some time to step away from the project.  Go for a walk, do some baking, sit down and knit a few rows - time to clear my head.  Usually things come together after a little separation from the project at hand.

What do you love to make with your yarn/fiber?

Any exciting things in the works that you want to share with us?

I'm considering a couple of new yarn bases that will debut either this winter or next spring .  There are also new kits in the works.

 You can follow Stephanie on twitter, read about her work/inspiration on her blog, and shop on her website.

It's a giveaway! Okay, because we like to be 100% transparent we want to admit to being huge fans of the crafty genius duo, Something's Hiding in Here. Shauna and Stephen have an aesthetic we love AND a work ethic that we try our best to emulate. (I think we may actually get more sleep than they do which is saying a lot.) You all know that we are advocates of making something and these two have made making their "day jobs". So what do we have in store for you?

The Mustache on a Stick, often emulated but never quite as awesome as the original! Can you believe they started making these 5 years ago? From Shauna, "it all started because stephen can't grow one of his own (it's sad but true). naturally, he dreamt of all the staches he wished he could grow and started carving them from wood. one day, i came home to find his collection and immediately said, "stephen, put those on a stick." the rest is photo booth history. we've made hundreds, probably over a thousand and still love seeing photos of them in use." <PREVIEWEND>

Why this giveaway right now?

From Shauna, "looking dapper and handsome isn't the only reason to pose for a photo with a mustache on a stick. recently, stephen met with the fellas who started "Movember" a campaign to raise awareness about men's health (specifically cancer). a few years ago stephen's father was diagnosed and beat prostate cancer so the mission of this group is close to our hearts. we wanted to get involved so we're sharing our classic mustache on a stick with as many people as we can and telling them about Movember."

What is Movember?

Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown into a global movement inspiring more than 1.1 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate. No matter the city or country, Movember strives to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, and to act on that knowledge, thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.

On November 1st, you can register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men's health.

In 2010, over 64,500 US Mo Bros and Mo Sistas helped spread the word.

gather here wants to help spread the word!

With the recent loss of savvy businessman and innovator, Steve Jobs (I'm still emotional when I open up my Macbook), we can't think of a better time to post this giveaway. We also want to give a shout out to the incredibly talented sports photography, Elsa, who lost her father to cancer last month. Our community is richer because she's a part of it and we're very sorry for her loss. Give the lady a hug the next time you see her.

Noah can't grow a mustache (but once upon a time he sported a soul-patch, oh when we were younger...) so this is the perfect way to show his support. If it was hands-free he could rock this on the movie set (hmmmm, we could make this happen...). We're thinking the his & hers mustaches are in our future, don't you agree?

But for one of you lucky readers, you could win a Mustache on a Stick! Just by doing two very simple things!!!! Because we wouldn't let you off the "make something" hook we want you to see what you're making these days. You can post a picture in a multitude of places: on our Ravelry WIP discussion board, on our Facebook wall, via Twitter (just remember to mention us in your tweet), or via flickr. It can be a finished project or a work-in-progress! AND then comment on this here post including your email address so we can contact you should you be the randomly selected winner of this giveaway! You have until October 31st to enter so hurry up and make something!!!!

Wait - I didn't win but still want to help!

You can still help by registering at Movember & sporting your very own stache. Or if you know someone who's looking for a faux stache to help support their mo-bro tell them to visit Something's Hiding in Here - from now until November 30th. Shauna & Stephen will be donating 100% of the profits from their Mustache on a Stick to Movember.

As always, fondly,

Virginia & Noah (makers and shakers)

One of things I love the most about designing and making my own clothes is that I can pull out the pattern and make the garment again in a totally different fabric. Over and over again. Take the A-line skirt pattern - we made it in a linen/cotton blend by Echino this summer and then made it again in a lovely Italian lightweight wool plaid and seriously, it's soooo different and soooo awesome!

<PREVIEWEND>Sure there are a few differences, we top stitched the hem on the  linen/cotton skirt and blind hemmed the wool skirt. We simply faced the linen/cotton skirt but faced and added a lightweight cotton voile lining to the wool skirt. They both have darts in front and back, an exposed zipper and are exactly the same length. We even dressed them up with appropriate seasonal sweaters. A lacy cotton short sleeve top for summer and a bulky Noro top-down sweater for fall. We're already planning on making the skirt with a much longer hem for winter! And pockets...

If you've had the opportunity to take the A-line skirt class we hope you'll whip up your skirt again for fall and/or winter. We'd love to see how your skirt changes each time you make one. And for those of you taking the class in October, try a heavier fabric like a corduroy or canvas ticking to give your skirt that autumnal feel perfect for cable knit tights, boots and your favorite peacoat.

Hooray for autumn and for making!!!!